At a time of unprecedented uncertainty where normality seems to have disappeared and isolation is the new buzzword, we must learn to embrace resilience.

Resilience is defined as ‘the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties’ and implies toughness or strength. All of us are being challenged in new ways by an illness we’ve not experienced before. Fear, uncertainty and a sense of dread are prevalent; we’re not used to the restrictions being placed on personal liberty. Isolation over enforced periods is something many people have not experienced previously.

To embrace resilience is to understand that we need to think correctly, build our lives on solid truth which won’t change on a daily basis and trust God with every aspect of our lives. It means being flexible enough to embrace changes to routines, isolation, boredom and uncertainty without going ‘stir-crazy.’ Another definition of resilience is ‘the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.’ May we have the resilience to spring back into the shape of Christ, being conformed to His image and defined only by Him.

There are many things in life we must turn our backs on, but any renunciation we make for the gospel’s sake is so that we can embrace something positive. We must learn to see eschewing and embracing as two sides of the same coin, not things which are at odds with each other. As we turn from sin, we run towards Jesus; as we are freed from the demands of the slave-driver, we can rest in the arms of a loving heavenly Father.

Perhaps the most surprising thing I will urge us to embrace is repetition. Few of us like repetition, associating it with monotony, boredom and restriction. But I find that repetition is an inevitable part of life and one which is oddly liberating.

Each morning the sun rises and each evening the sun sets at God’s commands. Every day, the tides come in and go out. Those of us who are older than one year have got used to the regularity of the seasons and can look forward to each one with a sense of comfortable awe. This repetition in the natural world is key to understanding life. Many of us crave adventure and difference, always seeking new experiences, but there is much to be said for repetition. It reminds us of stability, faithfulness and the fact that God is unchanging. Doing the same things over and over again is not only the way to improvement (‘practice makes perfect’, as they say!) but an inevitable part of life. Instead of chafing against this, we need to embrace the patience of a God who always loves us and will always be faithful to us and to work with Him in routine and repetition, rather than against Him.

There will, indeed, be new experiences to face and adventures galore with God, but there will also be periods of repetition and monotony. Instead of grumbling and complaining about these periods, let’s learn from the natural world and embrace repetition as our opportunity to learn faithfulness and practise constancy to demonstrate something of God’s character in an ever-changing world.

We had some more birthdays to celebrate last night:

Manipulation is very closely associated with revenge (though we may not think so), for it’s based on the false premise that we are required to sort everything out in life for ourselves. People who manipulate like to be in control. They like to engineer situations and people so that they are treated well and things work out for them. The root of manipulation lies in our belief that we are all-important, at the centre of the universe, with everything revolving around us. It’s a skill we learn early on in life as any parent of a toddler knows well (they are able to turn the tears on and off with consummate ease according to where they are and what they want!)

God does not want us to live like this. Manipulating people to make them serve us is the very opposite of how God acts. He who could rightly command our service gave us free will and offers us the choice to serve Him because we love Him, not out of fear or terror. We need to allow others the same free will and learn to let go of our need to be in control. This is terrifying at first, for the beloved may well choose a path that leads away from truth and trust, but it is the only way ultimately that leads to freedom. Those who seek to manipulate people and are in relationships where coercive control rules will not find the love they crave, for Jesus pointed us to love which denies itself and seeks the highest good always. Stop trying to make people do what you want and focus on loving God and doing what He wants!

I have many misgivings about the edicts and behaviour being manifested at the present time. The most frequent thought I have as I listen to portentous pronouncements curtailing freedom and watch hysterical behaviour in shops is ‘the whole world’s gone mad!‘ The panic, hysteria, fear and frenzy all around, so blithely adopted by hordes of people, beggars belief. I can’t see how these responses achieve anything positive, but the domino effect causes stability and normality to topple over all too quickly. Rational thought, reasoned arguments and quiet faith seem to be abandoned at the door of life in 2020.

I don’t pretend to know anything about Covid-19 or to have any expert advice on what should, could, or will be done. I do, however, know that God has not changed, and have no desire to abandon a faith that has survived plagues, pestilences, disasters and wars. The adage ‘God’s on the throne: all’s well with the world’ may seem trite and simplistic, but that fact is that God is still God, no matter what’s wrong with the world. He hasn’t changed, no matter what disasters lurk beside us to trip us up and shatter our lives.

This present climate reminds us of our hatred of uncertainty, our desperate need to feel in control of our lives (even if that’s down to how many toilet rolls we own) and our insecurity when we face a troubled future. I see a loss of control as something to be embraced, not shunned. It’s actually how we’re supposed to live anyway: one day at a time, trusting God for our daily bread, our daily needs, ‘care-free in the care of God’, as the Message version puts Luke 12:24.

Similarly, our hatred of uncertainty can be channelled into the things that remain certain: the unchanging nature of God, the truths that form the bedrock of our lives. All other ground is sinking sand.

Facing a troubled future is no new thing for the Christian, but we take heart from Jesus’s encouragement that He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Ultimately, we have an eternally secure future in the hands of a God who has conquered sin and death. There really is nothing for the Christian to fear.

So how do we respond to the uncertainty, fear and panic that are gripping our world (and which may prove to be even deadlier than the virus itself)? We need to respond with faith and love and live with hope.

Faith looks beyond the visible to the One who reigns over all. Love takes us beyond our desperate need to control, fix and manage our own lives and allows us to see beyond the present situation. Living with hope means we do not have to embrace paranoia or panic; instead, we can wait for the Lord in quietness and trust.

J. John speaks of our faith giving us sanity, stability and serenity. We serve the God of reality who provides respite and refuge in times of trouble. In Him, we find all we need. In Him, we find the grace and strength to carry on, no matter what.

Let’s be light and salt to our world now – showing people the grace and love of God and always being prepared to give a reason for the hope we have in Christ. Maybe that way others too can be led to know Christ and can find freedom from fear and set foot on the path to eternal life.

Stephen spoke tonight on the question of effectiveness. God’s intention is for each one of us to be effective – an intention which goes back to the beginning of time (Gen 2:15). He gave Adam the task of caring for the world, but sin distorted that purpose (rather like an SLR lens which has to be manually adjusted to work properly not being adjusted correctly – resulting in an out-of-focus photograph which lacks clarity), and as a result, God has had to remind mankind repeatedly of His plans and purposes (for example, starting afresh with Noah or promising to bless Abram).

In the New Testament, Jesus taught us how to be effective for God through the Beatitudes (see Matt 5:1-16). This topsy-turvy way of living shows us the values God wants us to display and reminds us that we are salt and light in the world. Later, Jesus taught us that the key to effectiveness lies in our prayer life, learning to ask, seek and knock (Matt 7:7).

Effectiveness does not simply apply to us as individuals but also applies to us as a church (the team leader in ‘Oblivion’ used to act the team each morning ‘are you an effective team?‘) Each individual ‘cog’ is needed for an engine to work effectively and in the same way, each individual member of the church is needed to make an effective team. Js 5:16 gives us a clue as to how God defines effectiveness: the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. We need to be effective in prayer so that we can receive the reward promised to faithfulness: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ (Matt 25:23)